Twenty-seven percent of students surveyed at Abdelmalek Essaâdi University in Tetouan and Tangier showed some level of suicide risk during the month before the survey, although most were classified as low risk, according to a new study published in Discover Public Health.
The study assessed 1,191 students across six institutions of the university, including four faculties and two higher schools.
Researchers used the Moroccan Arabic version of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, or M.I.N.I., to assess suicide risk during the previous 30 days.
Of the 322 students who screened positive for suicide risk, 279 were classified as low risk, 36 as moderate risk and seven as high risk.
The low-risk group represented 23.4% of the entire sample, while moderate-risk students accounted for 3% and high-risk students for 0.6%.
The findings do not mean that 27% of the students had attempted suicide or faced an imminent risk of doing so.
The assessment captures a wider range of suicidal thoughts, self-harm indicators and previous suicide attempts, with students placed into different risk categories based on their responses.
Among the 322 students classified as being at risk, 269, or 83.5%, reported suicidal thoughts. Three students had attempted suicide during the 30-day period covered by the survey, while 50 reported an earlier suicide attempt.
The seven students placed in the high-risk category were referred for psychiatric follow-up, according to the study.
Researchers identified five factors that remained independently associated with suicide risk after statistical adjustment: cannabis use, being single, having a family history of psychiatric disorders, and a history of physical or sexual violence.
Cannabis use showed the strongest statistical association, but the researchers cautioned that only 36 students in the sample reported cannabis use, while the sensitive and legally restricted nature of the issue could also have affected reporting.
The study also found higher rates of suicide risk among students who reported physical or sexual violence. These students also showed a greater share of moderate- and high-risk cases.
Male students recorded a suicide-risk rate of 29.2%, compared with 25% among female students, but the difference was not statistically significant.
Students from rural areas recorded higher rates than those from urban areas, although this difference was not statistically significant either.
Women made up 52.3% of the sample and men 47.7%, with students having an average age of 21.69.
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